Enes Kanter reacts after a play in Game 1 of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs.(Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
Enes Kanter, the Turkish-born Oklahoma City Thunder forward who had his passport canceled at a Romanian airport last week, tweeted Friday that the Turkish government has arrested his father and will "potentially" torture him.
Kanter, who has returned to the U.S. after his passport fiasco, has spoken out against Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan many times in the past. He said last week he believed his passport was canceled in retaliation for his political views.
"He’s a terrible man,” Kanter said on a conference call with media members once he returned to America. “I hope the world does something about it. …I hope the whole world is watching. Once these people get to jail, it’s not over for them. …People are getting kidnapped, murdered, tortured, and raped. I love my country, but I’m just trying to speak up for innocent people. …There are thousands of people out there with situations worse than mine.”
Kanter said Erdogan and the Turkish government have tried to silence anyone who speaks out against their power and that he is the “only one left that is speaking the truth about the government” and the “corruption."
Enes Kanter on passport fiasco: 'One of the craziest experiences I’ve ever had'
Kanter also said he’s receiving death threats “every day,” most of which come on social media, and that his family’s life is in danger and he cannot communicate with them.
"If they know that I am in contact with any of my family — my mom, my dad ... if they know that they text me somehow — Viber, WhatsApp, somehow — they will be in the jail the next day. It's that crazy," Kanter told USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick on a recent NBA A to Z podcast.
Kanter said he has no regrets about speaking out against the government because he wants to shed light on what's "truly going on."
"People don't understand. My friends are (in Turkey) in a jail getting tortured. My family there are getting tortured. When my dad goes to the supermarket, they spit on his face and say, 'What kind of son you have?' People don't understand what's going on in Turkey. ... That's why (I'm trying) to be the voice of all these innocent people."
According to a report from a Turkish newspaper, the Daily Sabah, Kanter faces an arrest warrant issued by the Turkish government over allegedly "being a member of a terrorist organization" blamed for a failed coup attempt last year.